Prep Athlete: St. Peter's Claire Nuessmeier

The St. Peter volleyball team cracked the 20–win mark this season thanks in part to the play of senior Claire Nuessmeier.

Rob Clark has more on why the Marquette commit is our KEYC News 12 Prep Athlete of the Week brought to you by Scheels.

"When we're in situations and when she's on the court, she is one that'll say 'calm down, we got it.' Her optimism is awesome, she's never down in the dumps or anytime she makes an error, it's short term. That's what she does for the other players too," said Carmen Hanson, St. Peter head coach.

St. Peter's Claire Nuessmeier wasted little time joining the 1,000 kills club earlier this season after topping the milestone in the squad's fifth game of 2018 against St. James Area.

"It was really awesome to say one thing. It was something I've been working for since ninth grade. We had this awesome hitter, she was a senior when I was in eighth grade. I always looked up to her, and being able to accomplish that milestone myself after four years was really fun," said Nuessmeier, Prep Athlete of the Week.

"I couldn't have been more happy for her. That was one goal she wanted to take away, and get that school record. Just other challenges, I think she's going to be setting more records. Her goal right now is to get most kills in a set. She barely missed it the other day by a couple. She has aspirations, she's such a hard worker, has a positive attitude and is definitely somebody that deserves it," said Hanson.

The senior's storied career will continue next season at the division one level with Marquette University.

"Getting that opportunity when they e–mailed me, I couldn't stop jumping up and down. I called my mom, and I was so excited. That was when things weren't official, but being able to have that opportunity is just crazy," said Nuessmeier.

"The only sad part is, I don't know how we're going to be able to get up there to watch her. Hopefully they'll televise a lot of games. When she came up and said, 'I got the e–mail, I'm going to go for it.' We had a pretty big celebration and cheer for her to be able to make it to that part. For us and our program, that's a huge thing to look at that and see that you can play at a D–1 level. I've never had the opportunity to coach someone with her ability, and she's put a lot of work into it," said Hanson.

Nuessmeier's leadership and game–changing abilities are why she's our KEYC News 12 Prep Athlete of the week brought to you by Scheels.